In recent years, artisans have made significant advances in fabricating and using optical electronic integrated circuits (OEICs). These improved circuits, which often contain active optical devices capable of operating in the femtosecond regime, have found significant applications in a number of fields including optical computing and communications. However, those concerned with designing OEICs have recognized the need for developing improved optical interconnects capable of transmitting light between the active devices that form these integrated circuits.
Conventional OEICs usually employ thin-film optical waveguides as device interconnects. Specifically, circuit fabricators have used thin films of semiconductor materials to form optical waveguides directly on the surface of OEIC structures. Although many of these waveguides have served the purpose, none have proved entirely satisfactory because of difficulties encountered in fabricating optical waveguides with sufficiently high transmission efficiencies to operate effectively with most of the recently developed high-speed OEIC devices. Fabricators of OEICs have therefore recognized the need to develop improved techniques of forming optical waveguides on OEIC structures such that the waveguides do not absorb appreciable amounts of the transmitted light while at the same time they contain the light. The present invention fulfills this need.